SEEDS OF INNOVATION

The agriculture scientist, who is the recipient of the Norman E. -Borlaug award for field research and application this year, has been working to bridge the gap between agriculture research and on-field application. She aims to empower farmers by improving their access to quality seeds, says Naina Gautam

THE MAN WHO SCRIPTED INDIA'S WIN OVER HUNGER

Having left the pursuit of medical studies to be an agriculturist, M.S. Swaminathan is credited with the success of the Green Revolution in India that dealt with the country's food scarcity, turning it from a 'begging bowl' into a 'bread basket'

HIMALAYAN TRIUMPH

Within months of becoming chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, a mountain state vulnerable to natural disasters, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu proved his mettle by spearheading the evacuation of 75,000 tourists during floods in Kullu this year

WALKING FOR THE SELF

Rahul Gandhi's multifarious attempts to take his idea of India finally bore fruit in the form of the Bharat Jodo Yatra earlier this year. In the process, he discovered a new self for himself and proposed a benevolent image for the nation

THE HIGHWAY MAN - NITIN GADKARI

A visionary when it comes to recognising the role of highways in the growth of a country's economy, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has been instrumental in the rapid expansion of the road network in the country. He is confident that it will be on par with that of the US by the next year

When a Celebrity Shifts Gears

For actress Kriti Sanon, 2023 has been a year of accomplishments. She won her first National Film Award for best actress for Mimi. She also launched two new ventures-skincare brand Hyphen and production company Blue Butterfly Filmsand has been pouring her heart and mind into both. In an interview with Outlook Business, Sanon talks about her growth as an actor, deep commitment to her companies and future plans

MALLIKARJUN KHARGE - GENERATIONAL GLUE

The 81-yearold Congress president proved his mettle as the leader of his party in the 16th Lok Sabha. In the first year of his presidency, he has carried the same feistiness from there in taking on the BJP and become a bridge across generations in the party

A PLACE FOR THE CHIP

Union electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's entry into the Narendra Modi cabinet within two years of joining politics was seen with scepticism. However, with his background in civil service and business, the tech-savvy minister has emerged as Modi's Man Friday when it comes to working for India's semiconductor ambitions

THE SHERPA'S TREK

The former Indian Administrative Service officer has been at the helm of important assignments of the government for long. However, during India's G20 presidency, his role as India's sherpa in building consensus among disagreeing nations amid geopolitical volatility has been a gamechanger

SUPREME COURT - A COURT OF MANY HOPES AND DISMAY

A new chief justice can change the character of judiciary. He can also be the difference between accountability and wilful oversight

FEEDING INDIAN ASPIRATIONS

Something unusual has happened for Apple in India. The US tech giant reported a 48% annual revenue growth for its India operations in FY23. The jump in revenue and profit has made the country, known for preferring pricesensitive Android devices over expensive iPhones, a serious bet for the company

FUELLING INDIA'S FLIGHT IN SPACE

The success of ISRO's Chandrayaan strengthened India's position among nations leading in space capabilities. Besides, its frugal spending too made international headlines

THE UNICORN OUT FOR DELIVERY

Within two years of launch, Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra's quick commerce platform Zepto became the first unicorn of 2023. Its 20-something founders also debuted in the 2022 IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List

MALAVIKA HEGDE - RISING FROM THE ASHES

Determined to revive the legacy of her late husband and founder of Café Coffee Day, V.G. Siddhartha, Malavika Hegde has been working strategically to reduce the company's debt and make it profitable

YOUNG ALTRUISTS

The philanthropic activities and goals of Nithin and Nikhil Kamath, brothers and co-founders of online brokerage firm Zerodha, placed them among the top 10 individual givers in the country last year. This year, Nikhil topped up his commitment by pledging to give away half of his wealth

PHILANTHROPIC PIONEER

The Infosys co-founder and UIDAI founding chairperson cuts an inspiring figure, not merely for his towering professional achievements but also his consistent philanthropic endeavours

MAKING THE RIGHT MOVES

Crowned the youngest international master at 10 years and 10 months, R. Praggnanandhaa is the only Indian after Vishwanathan Anand to play in the Chess World Cup final. As the teen grandmaster sets his eyes on becoming the world champion, he is a changemaker for being a bundle of talent at such a young age

NEERAJ CHOPRA - THE ONE WHO CAN KEEP UP

Rarely have Indian athletes shown the grit and discipline to remain consistent at the world stage as javelin star Neeraj Chopra and that is his legacy

50 CENTURIES JUST LOOKING LIKE A WOW!

Team India's star batsman is a bundle of energy on and off field. He dominated India's game this World Cup, breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record for maximum centuries in ODI cricket and becoming the highest scorer in a single edition of World Cup

HIGH FIVE: 'IT IS IMPORTANT FOR BRANDS TO BUILD REAL CONVERSATIONS'

Advertising has its own dos and don'ts. Rajdeepak Das, chief executive officer and chief creative officer of advertising and marketing company Leo Burnett for South Asia and chairman of the South Asia creative council at multinational advertising company Publicis Groupe, talks about the five most common advertising mistakes made by Indian companies

MERRILL PEREYRA: MANAGING DIRECTOR, PIZZA HUT INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

An Interview with MERRILL PEREYRA

THE FARMER ON A LONG DRIVE

Venkatram Mamillapalle, country CEO and MD of, Renault India Operations, is passionate about horticulture he has a farm with more than 300 varieties of fruit trees. He is equally passionate about travelling and reading

WHAT LED TO URJIT PATEL'S RESIGNATION? AN INSIDER EXPLAINS

There have been resignations in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), but governor Urjit Patel's in 2018 over policy differences was a rare event in the history of the central bank, writes former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg in his book. He details the frustration of the government with the RBI under Patel and the circumstances that eventually culminated into the latter posting his resignation on the RBI website

Rome Was Not Built in a Day

An article in The Economist, written early in 2020, was somewhat pessimistic about the country's start-up story. This pessimism, while possibly well-meant, was perhaps a little too harsh. India has demonstrated unimaginable resilience in the face of adversity-whether it be in adhering to its cultural moorings through millenniums of migrations and invasions or in surprising a world sceptical of its success as a democracy. There is little doubt that its budding start-up story would be equally, if not more, resilient.

Missing Social Enterprises in the Larger Picture

When both the market and the state fail to clear the demand for certain services and products, the intervention of civil society organisations and social enterprises becomes inevitable. Whether such enterprises will indeed emerge depends upon the ability of local disadvantaged communities to articulate their unmet needs into some form of demand. They can also arise if the existing enterprises or new start-ups recognise these unmet needs and decide to meet them affordably and inclusively with or without third-party funding.

ORGANIC USER GROWTH: The Slow and Steady Approach to Success

In a booming economy like India, where high-speed internet penetration has reached almost all of the 1.5 billion people, it is only natural for start-ups to go after a large user base from the getgo. But, as we have seen in many cases, the cost of user acquisition in business-to-consumer start-ups can often outweigh the potential revenue brought into the fold by new users who stay. This is especially true when companies are trying to establish new business models.

ARJUN MOHAN: Edtech suddenly became everyone's favourite whipping child

Behind the fall of the edtech sector is a string of factors, like drop in demand due to reopening of offline classes, failure of start-up founders to adapt to the post-Covid market requirements, mounting losses, etc. In fact, the fall of edtech unicorn Byju's from grace happened during this period. Arjun Mohan, who has worked extensively in the edtech sector, fears that all the negative narrative around it might affect the perception about online education, one reason why he decided to write a book about the sector

'Our Start-Ups Will Navigate through Global Challenges'

As a minister of state holding the dual portfolio of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar holds a vantage point in viewing the rise of tech-enabled start-ups in India. In an interview with Abdul Haleem Sherif, he delves into the dynamic growth journey of India's innovation ecosystem and the pivotal role that the Central government is playing in shaping its trajectory. Edited excerpts:

Symbiosis in Start-Up Why City Ecosystem: Clusters Matter

In the bustling avenues of Shenzhen, a group of innovators huddle together in a co-working space, creating the next big product in the \"Silicon Valley of Hardware\".

HOW CITY CLUSTERS MOVE START-UP GROWTH STORY

THE OUTLOOK START-UP Outperformers 2023 identified eight city clusters for the purpose of ranking the best start-up ecosystems in India. The Delhi NCR cluster, which includes Gurgaon, Noida and Greater Noida, tops the list.